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India keeps interest rates on hold at 8.5%   The value of the rupee has fallen to an all-time low against the dollar on fears for the Indian economy The Reserve Bank of India has held interest rates at 8.5%, interrupting a long period of rate increases. The widely expected decision reflects concern at the weakness of the economy. Inflation remains high, although the rate of wholesale price rises fell to 9.1% in November from 9.7% a month earlier, data on Wednesday showed. Despite the central bank raising rates 13 times since March, the value of the Indian rupee fell to another all-time low against the dollar this week. The currency's weakness, which has been driven by weakening economic data, has pushed up the price of imported goods in India, fueling inflation. March decision? "The central bank is walking a very tight rope," said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, head of research at SMC Global Securities, in New Delhi. "They are battling too many c...

Data storm: Making government data pay By Michael Cross Technology reporter   Data storm: EU governments may have to open their archives - which could include weather information - to business Here's the good news: Europe's fiscally squeezed governments are sitting on assets that could be worth 40bn euros ($52bn, £33.6bn) a year. The bad news is that, to realise those assets' full potential, governments have to give them away. For free, and without licensing conditions, to all comers, including multi-national corporations as well as to local start-ups. The assets are gargantuan archives of data that public administrations generate in the course of their public tasks. Such so-called public sector information can range from data sets about the weather and the natural environment to great works of historic art. Open opportunities Earlier this week, the vice president of the European Commission, Neel...

EU and IMF end informal Hungary debt talks   Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has pursued an unorthodox economic policy The European Commission and the IMF have cut short informal aid talks with Hungary due to worries over the independence of its central bank. Hungary had been seeking a standby credit line of 15-20bn euros ($19.5bn, £12.6bn) in case it ran into trouble issuing new debt. In November its credit rating was downgraded to 'junk' status by Moody's. EU negotiators objected to a proposed law which they said would compromise the independence of the central bank. "Unfortunately we did not receive assurances concerning the intentions of the Hungarian government, (which went on) to push forward in parliament the vote on the law that could potentially undermine the independence of the central bank," said European Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj. Bank governor Andras Simor has said the proposed bill amounts to a takeover of the...

Kevin Dai: Comsenz founder preferred programming to people Computer programming was like a native language for Kevin Dai, but when he started his company he had to work on his communication skills Every day millions of Chinese web users discuss life on bulletin boards and internet forums powered by Comsenz social networking software. Kevin Dai, now 30, founded Comsenz a decade ago when he was still at university in China. Comsenz caught the eye of US investors such as Google and venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, and in August last year one of China's biggest technology companies, Tencent, bought Comsenz. Reports suggest Tencent paid anything from $45m to $60m (approximately £29m-£38m). Kevin may now be an employee, but he's still committed to the company he founded. Teen talent He first showed a talent for programming - and making money - when he was a teenager at junior middle school in the 19...

Russia becomes WTO member after 18 years of talks   Russia has spent 18 years trying to gain access to the World Trade Organisation Russia has finally joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) at a ceremony in Switzerland on Friday, after 18 years negotiating its membership. The Swiss brokered a deal between Russia and Georgia earlier this year that removed the last obstacle to Russia's accession. Georgia had tried to block Russia's WTO entry since the two countries fought a short war in 2008. Russia was by far the biggest economy yet to join the global trade body. It is also the last member of the Group of 20 major economies to join, after China gained membership in 2001. Business environment The 153-member WTO provides a forum for international trade liberalisation agreements, which it polices - deciding when rules have been breached and when retaliatory trade sanctions can be imposed. The removal of trade barriers is likely to stimulate gre...

Jailbreakers use Apple crash reports to 'free' iPhones By Paul Rubens Technology reporter Chronic Dev's website asks users to send it their crash reports Thousands of iPhone owners have joined forces with a team of hackers to help them find new ways to jailbreak Apple's phone software. Jailbreaking involves unlocking a device so that it is not restricted to running software officially approved by the manufacturer. Mobile phones that run Google's Android operating system do not face this restriction and Microsoft allows its Windows Phone 7 operating system to be unlocked. But Apple has always fought very hard to prevent anyone jailbreaking its devices. The latest version of the iPhone's operating system is proving to be extremely hard to jailbreak fully, according to Joshua Hill, a member of the Chronic Dev hacker team. "Apple is really making it tough for us. The iPhone is now better protected th...

Paypal plans daily deal coupons to compete with Groupon   The Daily Telegraph's Selected service is one of the most recent daily coupon sites to launch in the UK Online payment service Paypal plans to enter the discount coupon market. The eBay-owned business said it planned to launch the service in the US before April 2012. Paypal's president, Scott Thompson, told the Bloomberg news agency that his firm would use its knowledge of its 103 million members' past purchases to tailor offers. The move poses a challenge to the sector's two biggest players, Groupon and Livingsocial. Daily deal businesses offer their members the chance to buy goods or services - from spa treatments and sushi to cheap flights and theatre tickets - at a steep discount. Buyers are usually limited to using the coupons within a restricted time span. The daily dealer business then splits the revenue with the organisation providing the goods. Companies may make a loss on the spe...